Although my father's obituary has been in the newspapers all over the country, and even world wide, this one from The Regional is one of my favorites.
Here's the short list of what I'm thankful for today:
Here's the short list of what I'm thankful for today:
- I'm thankful my father was able to hold and burp the first six of his ten grandchildren, while singing "I've been working on the railroad."
- I'm thankful that he died in his sleep with pain management.
- I'm thankful for John Markoff of the New York Times, who wrote a great article that has been picked up by newspapers around the world. It is somehow comforting to know that other people think my father was a great guy.
- I'm thankful for my ever-supportive husband was able to drop everything when the call came in the wee hours last week.
- I'm thankful that my children have such fond memories of my father.
- I'm thankful that my daughter has the patience and understanding to help her grandmother set the table for Thanksgiving dinner.
- I'm thankful for that neighbor of my mother's, whose name she can never remember, dashed out of his house with a jar of his homemade apple butter as a gift.
- I'm thankful that my father took the time to show his special carving techniques to Mark, who spent time explaining them to Large yesterday.
Albert V. Crewe should not be remembered only as being a great scientist, artist and father, but as an influential person who worked hard to lobby for research funding and wasn't shy about expressing his rage over the lack of it. He was an intellectual who was as much a fixture in his laboratory as he was at our swim meets, the hardware store, piano and dance recitals.
2 comments:
What a lovely post. Your father was certainly as accomplished man, but what stands out the most to me, after reading your post, is the fact that an obituary can never capture the true essence of a person. His obituaries portrayed him (accurately) as a great scientist, but you, his daughter, also portray him as a great man.
Thank you so much for your comment! As a man, my father was perhaps more accomplished than he was as a scientist. As a father, his accomplishments are seen in his four children and ten grandchildren. The universe has lost a genius, I have lost my compass.
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